I’m not sure the pandemic has changed my political views as much as the president’s handling of it, and the way with which information and misinformation and disinformation is perpetuated. It’s like people are walking on the beach and picking up shells like this and reading some oracle of truth to get their information. I understand people are afraid, and in many cases they should be. I understand the country was founded on certain principles like “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. However, that does not mean you get to do whatever you want. There is an implied caveat here...”life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness BUT NOT at the expense of others,” I understand it’s nearly impossible to change someone’s beliefs, so I’ve tried to look for the shred of truth. For example, if you trace back the conspiracy theory that certain leaders are cannibals you can trace back and find that It stems from their partaking of a communion service (which is purported to be the blood and body of Christ) In Africa at the request of a community leader, See cannibals! How silly and desperate to perpetuate this to create this huge divide that’s pitting us against each other. In the middle of a pandemic! I don’t understand wanting to hate that much? It scares me to think what the next few months might become. I want to believe my fellow Americans are smart enough to know we need to heal and find ways to work together if we have any hope for future generations. Or what happens when the next virus comes? Or the one after that? Or the one after that?
October 21, 2020
This large encampment of tent dwellers is in a park in my town right next to the county governmental office building. I think people around the world are shocked and dismayed, as I am, at the increasing number of unhoused people in this country, and the rise in extreme income disparity. People once viewed the USA as a prosperous country where poverty and wealth inequality were less dire than most countries, a place where a full time worker could afford to live comfortably. Now scenes like this are common in many cities and towns across the country. We have increasing numbers of people living in tents next to streets where Teslas and other signs of wealth are a regular sight. People who once envied us now shake their heads in disbelief and comment that this used to be a much better place.
October 22, 2021